Access control method, access control apparatus and communication system

ABSTRACT

An access control method, an access control apparatus and a communication system are disclosed, and a mechanism for processing Emergency Call (EMC) services is disclosed, and such mechanism ensures continuity of the EMC service while implementing the access control under a Closed Subscriber Group (CSG) mechanism. The access control method includes: obtaining CSG area information of a target area; and controlling the access of a User Equipment (UE) to the target area according to the CSG area information of the target area and/or whether an EMC service exists on the UE. The present invention is applicable to the scenario in which the UE accesses a network

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

This application is a continuation of U.S. patent application Ser. No.13/091,367 filed on Apr. 21, 2011, which is a continuation ofInternational Application No. PCT/CN2009/074469, filed on Oct. 15, 2009.The International application claims priority to Chinese PatentApplication No. 200810171569.9, filed on Oct. 21, 2008 and ChinesePatent Application No. 200910119370.6, filed on Mar. 24, 2009 andChinese Patent Application No. 200910139153.3, filed on May 5, 2009 allof which are hereby incorporated by reference in their entireties.

TECHNICAL FIELD

The present invention relates to communication network technologies, andin particular, to an access control method, an access control apparatus,and a communication system.

BACKGROUND

With fast development of network technologies, the Internet accesstechnology is evolving. The home access mode is a new access modecurrently being researched by the 3rd Generation Partnership Project(3GPP) and non-3GPP standardization organizations.

In home access mode, a User Equipment (UE) accesses a mobile networkthrough a universal Internet Protocol (IP) access network by using ahome Wireless Access Point (WAP) and the licensed spectrum. The licensedspectrum may be the spectrum used in various networks, for example, theUMTS Terrestrial Radio Access Network (UTRAN), Evolved UTRAN (E-UTRAN),Code Division Multiple Access (CDMA) network, Worldwide Interoperabilityfor Microwave Access (WiMAX) network, Wireless Local Area Network(WLAN), and High Rate Packet Data (HRPD) network. A home WAP is alsoknown as a Femtocell.

A Closed Subscriber Group (CSG) mechanism is introduced to restrict theaccess of a UE to a specific home WAR The CSG identifies some UEs (orusers) authorized to access one or more cells of an operator, butrestricts the access of other UEs to such cells. A CSG area includes oneor more cells, which are identified by a CSG Identifier (ID). A CSG areais accessible to a group of UEs, but not accessible to other UEs thanthis group of UEs. The CSG IDs of all CSG areas accessible to a UE forman Allowed CSG List, which is also known as a CSG White List. TheAllowed CSG List of the UE is stored in a mobility management NetworkElement (NE) such as a Serving GPRS Support Node (SGSN) and a MobilityManagement Entity (MME), or stored in a non-3GPP Gateway (GW) or the UE.

Currently, the 3GPP standardization organization is developing anEmergency Call (EMC) service in an IP Multimedia Subsystem (IMS) toprovide emergency call services such as policy emergency calls and fireemergency calls for users by using an IP-Connectivity Access Network(IP-CAN) network (such as GPRS/UMTS/E-UTRAN/WLAN/WiMAX) and the IMSsystem.

However, the prior art has drawbacks. For example, when a UE is handedover from a source access NE to a target access NE or a target cell, noaccess control is exercised; and the access control is exercised onlyafter the UE is handed over to the target access NE or target cell. Inthis mechanism, the access control is exercised only after the UE ishanded over to the target access NE or target cell, and consequently,the UE is not allowed to access the target access NE or target cellafter the handover, and the ongoing service on the UE is terminated,which impairs the user experience.

In the CSG mechanism, when the UE is handed over from the source homeWAP to the target home WAP, if the CSG ID corresponding to the targethome WAP does not exist in the Allowed CSG List of the UE, the access ofthe UE to the target home WAP is rejected; if the UE has an EMC serviceat this time, the EMC service is interrupted. The prior art provides nomechanism for processing the EMC service in this circumstance.

SUMMARY

To prevent interruption of an EMC service when a UE accesses a targetaccess NE, embodiments of the present invention provide an accesscontrol method, an access control apparatus, and a communication system,and provide a mechanism for processing the EMC service. Such mechanismensures continuity of an EMC service while access control under a CSGmechanism is implemented.

To achieve such objectives, embodiments of the present invention arebased on the following technical solution:

An access control method includes:

obtaining CSG area information of a target area; and

controlling the access of a UE to the target area according to the CSGarea information of the target area and/or whether an EMC service existson the UE.

An access control apparatus includes:

an obtaining unit, configured to obtain a CSG ID of a target area and anAllowed CSG List of a UE; and

an access control unit, configured to control the access of the UE tothe target area according to whether the CSG ID of the target areaexists in the Allowed CSG List of the UE and/or whether an EMC serviceexists on the UE.

An access control apparatus includes:

an obtaining unit, configured to obtain that a target area is a CSG areaand that no Allowed CSG List of a UE exists; and an access control unit,configured to control the access of the UE to the target area accordingto the facts that the target area is a CSG area and that no Allowed CSGList of the UE exists and/or according to whether an EMC service existson the UE.

A communication system includes a target access NE and a target coremanagement NE.

The target access NE is configured to access a UE.

The target core management NE is configured to obtain a CSG ID of atarget area and an Allowed CSG List of the UE, and control the access ofthe UE to the target area according to whether the CSG ID of the targetarea exists in the Allowed CSG List of the UE and/or whether an EMCservice exists on the UE, or control the access of the UE to the targetarea according to the facts that the target area is a CSG area and thatno Allowed CSG List of the UE exists and/or according to whether an EMCservice exists on the UE.

A communication system includes a source access NE and a target accessNE.

The source access NE is configured to obtain a CSG ID of a target areaand an Allowed CSG List of a UE, and select the target area to initiatea handover procedure if an EMC service exists on the UE and/or the CSGID of the target area exists in the Allowed CSG List of the UE; orconfigured to obtain that the target area is a CSG area and that noAllowed CSG List of the UE exists, and select the target area toinitiate a handover procedure if an EMC service exists on the UE.

The target access NE is configured to access the UE.

A communication system includes a target access NE and a source coremanagement NE.

The source core management NE is configured to allow a UE to access atarget area if an EMC service exists on the UE and/or a CSG ID of thetarget area exists in an Allowed CSG List of the UE; or configured toobtain that the target area is a CSG area and that no Allowed CSG Listof the UE exists, and allow the UE to access the target area if an EMCservice exists on the UE.

The target access NE is configured to access the UE.

A communication system includes:

a target access NE, configured to obtain a CSG ID of a target area andan Allowed CSG List of a UE, and control the access of the UE to thetarget area according to whether the CSG ID of the target area exists inthe Allowed CSG List of the UE and/or whether an EMC service exists onthe UE; or

configured to obtain that the target area is a CSG area and that noAllowed CSG List of the UE exists, and control the access of the UE tothe target area according to the facts that the target area is a CSGarea and that no Allowed CSG List of the UE exists and/or according towhether an EMC service exists on the UE.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 shows an access control method applied during handover in a firstembodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 2 shows an architecture of a home access system;

FIGS. 3A and 3B show mode 1 of scenario 1 of an access control methodaccording to a second embodiment of the present invention;

FIGS. 4A and 4B show mode 2 of scenario 1 of an access control methodaccording to the second embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 5 shows mode 1 of scenario 2 of an access control method accordingto the second embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 6 shows mode 2 of scenario 2 of an access control method accordingto the second embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 7 shows a structure of an access control apparatus according to athird embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 8 is a first schematic diagram of a communication system accordingto a fourth embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 9 is a second schematic diagram of a communication system accordingto the fourth embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 10 is a first schematic diagram of a communication system accordingto a fifth embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 11 is a second schematic diagram of a communication systemaccording to the fifth embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 12 is a schematic diagram of a communication system according to asixth embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 13 shows mode 1 of scenario 3 of an access control method accordingto the second embodiment of the present invention; and

FIG. 14 shows mode 2 of scenario 3 of an access control method accordingto the second embodiment of the present invention.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

To make the technical solution under the present invention clearer, thefollowing describes the embodiments of the present invention withreference to the accompanying drawings. Apparently, the embodimentsprovided below are not exhaustive, and persons of ordinary skill in theart can derive other embodiments of the present invention from suchembodiments without creative efforts.

As shown in FIG. 1, an access control method provided in the firstembodiment of the present invention includes:

Step 101: Obtain a CSG ID of a target access NE and an Allowed CSG Listof a UE.

Step 102: Control the access of the UE to the target access NE accordingto whether the CSG ID of the target access NE exists in the Allowed CSGList of the UE and/or whether an EMC service exists on the UE.

“Obtain the CSG ID of the target access NE and the Allowed CSG List ofthe UE” herein refers to “learn the CSG ID of the target access NE andthe Allowed CSG List of the UE”, namely, a word “learn” is equivalent to“obtain” in the description herein, the same hereinafter.

Note: The CSG ID of the target access NE mentioned here is a type of CSGID of a target area. CSG ID information may be a CSG ID in other targetareas such as a target cell, a target tracking area, or a target routingarea. That is, the target area mentioned herein includes the targetaccess NE, target cell, target tracking area, and target routing area.For ease of description, the CSG ID of the target access NE is taken asan example in all embodiments provided herein. However, the technicalsolution under the present invention is also applicable to the scenariosof other target areas.

Note: If no Allowed CSG List of the UE exists, step 101 is: obtain thatthe target area is a CSG area and that no Allowed CSG List of the UEexists; and step 102 is: control the access of the UE to the target areaaccording to the facts that the target area is a CSG area and that noAllowed CSG List of the UE exists and/or according to whether an EMCservice exists on the UE.

The technical solution provided in the first embodiment uses whether anEMC service exists on the UE as a factor for access control, andprovides a mechanism for processing the EMC service during handoverunder a CSG mechanism; during handover, the mechanism for processing theEMC service provided in this embodiment exercises access control on theUE without interrupting the EMC service of the UE, thus ensuringcontinuity of the EMC service.

In this embodiment, the handover scenario is taken as an example fordescribing the technical solution. The handover mentioned in thisembodiment refers to handover of the UE from a source access NE to atarget access NE. Such handover may occur in the same location area orbetween different location areas, or occur in other scenarios, forexample, the access of a UE to a new cell when the UE initiates alocation update procedure, the same hereinafter.

The following describes an access control method in a handover scenarioin the second embodiment of the present invention. The method is appliedin at least the following scenarios:

Scenario 1:

The core management NE of the target network implements access controlduring handover.

Depending on the network topology and the handover procedure, scenario 1includes two modes.

Mode 1:

FIGS. 3A and 3B illustrate the network structure and the methodprocedure of mode 1. The procedure includes the following steps:

Step 31: The source access NE makes a handover decision, that is,decides to hand over the UE to a target access NE. The source access NEsends a Handover Request message to the target access NE.

The target access NE may be a home WAP (such as a Home NodeB which isHNB for short) or a Home evolved NodeB which is HeNB for short or a Homenon-3GPP WAP) in home access system architecture, or a WAP with CSGfunctions (for example, a NodeB, or an eNodeB, or a non-3GPP WAP).

To make the technical solution under the present invention clearer, FIG.2 illustrates home access system architecture. In this architecture, theHNB is a home WAP that runs on the UTRAN spectrum; the HeNB is a homeWAP that runs on the E-UTRAN spectrum; and the home non-3GPP WAP is ahome WAP that runs on the spectrum of a non-3GPP network such as aCDMA/WiMAX/WLAN/HRPD network.

The HNB GW, the HeNB GW, and the home non-3GPP WAP GW are home WAP GWsconnected to the HNB, HeNB, and home non-3GPP WAP respectively through auniversal IP access network.

The home WAP GW has the functions such as performing management andaccess control for the home WAPs, aggregating the home WAPs, and routingand forwarding signaling data between an NE in the mobile network andthe home WAP.

NEs in a mobile network include: MME in an E-UTRAN, SGSN in a GPRS/UMTS,and non-3GPP GWs (also known as Mobile Access Gateways which is MAGs forshort) in a non-3GPP network. Examples of non-3GPP GWs are: EvolvedPacket Data Gateway (EPDG) in a WLAN network, Access Service NetworkGateway (ASN GW) in a WiMAX network, Access Gateway (AGW) in a CDMAnetwork, and HRPD Serving Gateway (HSGW) in an HRPD network.

A Home Subscriber Server (HSS) is configured to store subscriptioninformation of a UE. An Authentication, Authorization and Accounting(AAA) server is configured to perform access authentication,authorization, and charging of the UE.

A Home Management Server (HMS) is responsible for managing home WAPs.The HMS may be stand-alone or integrated in another NE such as the HSS.The HMS may be connected to a gateway of a home Access Point (AP), ordirectly connected to a home WAP. FIG. 1 illustrates the connectionrelation between the HMS and the gateway of the home AP.

Moreover, what is provided above is only an example of the home accesssystem architecture. In another home access system architecture, thehome AP may be connected to an NE in the mobile network directly.

The core management NEs mentioned in this embodiment include the SGSN,MME, and non-3GPP GW.

Step 32: The target access NE returns a Handover Request Ack message tothe source access NE.

Step 33: The source access NE sends a Handover Command message to theUE, instructing the UE to be handed over to the target access NE.

Step 34: The UE is handed over to the target access NE, and sends aHandover Confirm message to the target access NE.

Step 35: The target access NE sends a Path Switch Request message to thecore management NE. Alternatively, the target access NE adds the CSG IDof the target access NE to the Path Switch Request message.

When a target AGW exists in the network, the Path Switch Request messageis sent to the core management NE through the target AGW. FIGS. 3A and3B illustrate the scenario in which a target AGW exists.

Step 36: The core management NE returns a Path Switch Request Ackmessage to the target access NE.

Step 37: The core management NE makes a handover decision. This stepincludes:

Step 371: The core management NE of the target network obtains the CSGID of the target access NE and the Allowed CSG List of the UE.

The core management NE obtains the Allowed CSG List of the UE from theHSS. For example, the core management NE sends an Update Locationmessage to the HSS, and the HSS returns an Update Location Ack messagethat carries the Allowed CSG List of the UE to the core management NE.

Note: If the subscription information of the UE includes no Allowed CSGList, the UE subscription information obtained by the core management NEfrom the HSS includes no Allowed CSG List of the UE (namely, the coremanagement NE has no Allowed CSG List of the UE).

The core management NE may obtain the CSG ID of the target access NE inat least one of the following ways:

(1) Receive a Path Switch Request message from the target access NE,where the Path Switch Request message carries the CSG ID of the targetaccess NE.

(2) Search a table of mapping relations between an ID of the targetaccess NE and the CSG ID, and obtain the CSG ID of the target access NEaccording to the ID of the target access NE, where the table of mappingrelations between an ID of the target access NE and the CSG ID isconfigured in the core management NE.

(3) Search the table of mapping relations between an ID of the targetaccess NE and the CSG ID, and obtain the CSG ID of the target access NEaccording to the ID of the target access NE, where the table of mappingrelations between an ID of the target access NE and the CSG ID isconfigured in an HMS or a Backend Administration Module (BAM) system ofthe operator such as the Operation Support System (OSS), Business andOperation Support System (BOSS), Operation and Maintenance Center (OMC).

Note: The BAM system of the operator may be named “management platform”of the operator. The names herein shall not be constructed aslimitations to the present invention.

(4) Obtain the CSG ID of the target access NE according to the cell IDof the target access NE, where the cell ID includes the CSG ID of thetarget access NE, and is reported to the core management NE of thetarget network through a Path Switch Request message.

Step 372: The core management NE of the target network controls theaccess of the UE to the target access NE according to whether the CSG IDof the target access NE exists in the Allowed CSG List of the UE and/orwhether an EMC service exists on the UE.

The core management NE judges whether the CSG ID of the target access NEexists in the Allowed CSG List of the UE in at least one of thefollowing ways:

(1) The core management NE checks whether the CSG ID of the targetaccess NE exists in the Allowed CSG List of the UE (namely, whether theAllowed CSG List includes the CSG ID) according to the obtained CSG ID.

(2) The core management NE obtains the cell ID of the target access NE,and checks whether the CSG ID of the target access NE exists in theAllowed CSG List of the UE according to a maximum principle. Forexample, in the Allowed CSG List, a CSG ID is composed of 20 bits. Thecore management NE checks whether the 20 bits (generally, the first 20bits) of the CSG ID in the cell ID of the target access NE are the sameas the CSG ID, and, if so, determines that the CSG ID of the targetaccess NE exists in the Allowed CSG List of the UE.

The core management NE judges whether an EMC service exists on the UE byusing any of the following methods:

(1) The core management NE queries the Access Point Name (APN) used bythe bearer of the UE. If discovering a specific APN (such as anemergency APN), the core management NE determines that an EMC serviceexists on the UE.

(2) The core management NE judges whether an emergency indication existsin the bearer of the UE, and, if an emergency indication exists in thebearer of the UE, determines that an EMC service exists on the UE.

(3) The core management NE judges the Allocation and Retention Priority(ARP) used by the bearer of the UE. If discovering a specific ARP (suchas an emergency ARP), the core management NE determines that an EMCservice exists on the UE.

(4) The core management NE judges the Quality of Service ClassIdentifier (QCI) used by the bearer of the UE. If discovering a specificQCI (such as an emergency QCI), the core management NE determines thatan EMC service exists on the UE.

The core management NE controls the access of the UE to the targetaccess NE in the following way:

allow the UE to access the target access NE if an EMC service exists onthe UE; or

allow the UE to access the target access NE if the CSG ID of the targetaccess NE exists in the Allowed CSG List of the UE; or

reject the access of the UE to the target access NE if at least one ofthe foregoing conditions is not fulfilled.

The core management NE performs control according to the two conditionsabove in many ways, and it does not matter which of the two conditionsabove is judged first, namely, the core management NE may judge whetheran EMC exists on the UE first, or judge whether the CSG ID of the targetaccess NE exists in the Allowed CSG List of the UE first.

Preferably, the core management NE in this embodiment controls theaccess of the UE to the target access NE in the following way:

The core management NE judges whether an EMC service exists on the UEfirst. If an EMC service exists on the UE, the core management NE allowsthe UE to access the target access NE no matter whether the CSG ID ofthe target access NE exists in the Allowed CSG List of the UE (that is,the core management NE does not judge whether the CSG ID of the targetaccess NE exists in the Allowed CSG List of the UE). If no EMC serviceexists on the UE, the core management NE judges whether the CSG ID ofthe target access NE exists in the Allowed CSG List of the UE, andallows the UE to access the target access NE if the CSG ID of the targetaccess NE exists in the Allowed CSG List of the UE, or rejects theaccess of the UE to the target access NE if the CSG ID of the targetaccess NE does not exist in the Allowed CSG List of the UE.

The core management NE may judge whether the CSG ID of the target accessNE exists in the Allowed CSG List of the UE first. If the CSG ID of thetarget access NE exists in the Allowed CSG List of the UE, the coremanagement NE allows the UE to access the target access NE withoutjudging whether an EMC service exists on the UE; if the CSG ID of thetarget access NE does not exist in the Allowed CSG List of the UE, thecore management NE judges whether an EMC service exists on the UE, andallows the UE to access the target access NE if an EMC service exists,or rejects the access of the UE to the target access NE if no EMCservice exists.

In mode 1 of scenario 1, if the CSG ID of the target access NE does notexist in the Allowed CSG List of the UE, and no EMC service exists onthe UE, the core management NE initiates a detach procedure to detachthe UE, or instructs the UE to initiate an update procedure and migrateto an accessible cell. The detach procedure or update procedure ensuresthat the access control mechanism for the UE during handover isconsistent with the CSG mechanism.

Note: If no Allowed CSG List of the UE exists in the core management NEand the core management NE has obtained the CSG ID of the target area(or, in other words, the core management NE obtains that the target areais a CSG area, the same hereinafter), the core management NE rejects theaccess of the UE to the target area.

Or, if an EMC service exists on the UE, the core management NE allowsthe UE to access the target area; if no EMC service exists on the UE, noAllowed CSG List of the UE exists in the core management NE, and thetarget area is a CSG area, the core management NE rejects the access ofthe UE to the target area.

The UE detach procedure initiated by the core management NE includes thefollowing steps:

Step 38: The core management NE sends a Detach Request message to theUE. The Detach Request message may carry an indication, indicating thatthe detach request is triggered by restricted CSG access. For example,the Detach Request message carries a cause value “CSG Not Allowed”.

Step 39: The UE accepts the Detach Request, and returns a Detach Acceptmessage to the core management NE.

If the indication carried in the Detach Request message in step 38indicates that the detach request is triggered by restricted CSG access,the UE can select an accessible cell for accessing, for example, anon-CSG cell such as a macro cell, or an accessible CSG cell (namely,the CSG cell corresponding to a CSG ID included in the Allowed CSG List,except the CSG ID of the target access NE). This indication instructsthe UE to initiate an attach procedure and register with a mobilenetwork of the operator through the selected cell. If the Allowed CSGList of the UE includes the CSG ID of the target access NE, the UEdeletes the CSG ID of the target access NE from the Allowed CSG List ofthe UE. The indication carried in the Detach Request message ensuresthat the UE accesses a target access NE that allows access, after the UEis detached from a target access NE where access is rejected.

The location update procedure initiated by the core management NEincludes the following steps:

Step 40: The core management NE sends a Release Command message to thetarget access NE.

The Release Command message varies with different network architecture.For example, for an E-UTRAN, the MME sends a UE Context Release Commandmessage to the access NE; for a GERAN/UTRAN, the SGSN sends an IuRelease Command message to the access NE; and, for a non-3GPP network,the non-3GPP GW sends a Resource Release Command message to the accessNE.

The Release Command message carries an indication, indicating thatlocation update needs to be initiated because the access is restricted.For example, the Release Command message carries a cause value “AccessRestricted LU Required”.

Step 41: The target access NE sends a Release Request message to the UE.

The Release Request message varies with different network architecture.For example, for a 3GPP network, the target access NE sends an RRCConnection Release Request message to the UE; and, for a non-3GPPnetwork, the target access NE sends a Resource Release Request messageto the UE.

The Release Request message carries an indication, indicating thatlocation update needs to be initiated because the access is restricted.For example, the Release Request message carries a cause value “AccessRestricted LU Required”.

After receiving the indication, the UE selects an accessible cell, forexample, a non-CSG cell such as a macro cell, or an accessible CSG cell(namely, the CSG cell corresponding to a CSG ID included in the AllowedCSG List, except the CSG ID of the target access NE), and then initiatesa location update procedure.

Step 42: The UE returns a Release Ack message to the target access NE.

Step 43: The target access NE returns a Release Complete message to thecore management NE.

Step 44: The UE initiates a location update procedure, and sends anUpdate Request message to the core management NE.

For example, for an E-UTRAN network, the UE sends a Tracking Area Update(TAU) Request message to the MME; and, for a GERAN/UTRAN network, the UEsends a Routing Area Update (RAU) Request message to the SGSN.

Step 45: The core management NE returns an Update Accept message to theUE.

At the time of updating the location area, if the UE finds that noproper cell is available for initiating a location update procedure instep 41, the procedure further includes the following steps:

Step 46: The UE initiates a detach procedure to detach the UE from thecurrently accessed mobile network. The UE sends a Detach Request messageto the core management NE.

Step 47: The core management NE detaches the UE and returns a DetachAccept message to the UE.

Through the foregoing update procedure, after the core management NErejects the access of the UE to the target access NE, the coremanagement NE instructs the UE to initiate an update procedure andmigrate to the target access NE that allows access, thus implementingaccess control under the CSG mechanism, avoiding interruption of theongoing service of the UE, and improving the user experience.

Alternatively, if the CSG ID of the target access NE does not exist inthe Allowed CSG List of the UE, but an EMC service exists on the UE,step 48 is performed: The core management NE initiates a bearer deletionprocedure to delete the bearers used by non-EMC services. That is, ifthe CSG ID of the target access NE does not exist in the Allowed CSGList of the UE, the core management NE allows only the bearer used bythe EMC service to access the target access NE, and rejects the bearerused by the non-EMC service the access to the target access NE, thusmaximally ensuring that the access control mechanism applied to the UEduring handover is the same as the CSG mechanism.

Note: The Packet Data Network Gateway (PGW) is a user anchor between a3GPP access network and a non-3GPP access network, and is a gatewaywhich terminates the interface to the Packet Data Network (PDN).

Note: If the core management NE has no Allowed CSG List of the UE, thetarget area is a CSG area, and an EMC service exists on the UE, theprocedure includes step 48 alternatively.

Further, if the UE is allowed to access the target access NE because anEMC service exists on the UE, after completion of the EMC service of theUE, step 49 is performed:

(1) If the UE or the core management NE finds in the foregoing step thatan EMC service exists on the UE and that the CSG ID of the target accessNE does not exist in the Allowed CSG List of the UE, after completion ofthe EMC service, the UE or the core management NE initiates a detachprocedure to detach the UE, or initiates a location update procedure tomigrate the UE from the target access NE to the accessible cell.

Note: If the UE or the core management NE has no Allowed CSG List of theUE, the target area is a CSG area, and an EMC service exists on the UE,after completion of the EMC service, the UE or the core management NEinitiates a detach procedure to detach the UE, or initiates a locationupdate procedure to migrate the UE from the target access NE to theaccessible cell (namely, the target cell, the same hereinafter).

For example, the UE or the core management NE sets an indication in thecontext of the UE, indicating that the UE access to the target access NEis restricted (for example, the indication is “CSG Not Allowed”). Afterthe EMC service is terminated, the UE or the core management NEdiscovers the indication in the context of the UE, and therefore,initiates a detach procedure to detach the UE or initiates a locationupdate procedure to migrate the UE from the target access NE to theaccessible cell.

Or,

(2) After the EMC service is terminated, the UE or the core managementNE judges whether the CSG ID of the target access NE exists in theAllowed CSG List of the UE. If the CSG ID of the target access NE doesnot exist in the Allowed CSG List of the UE, the UE or the coremanagement NE initiates a detach procedure to detach the UE, orinitiates a location update procedure to migrate the UE from the targetaccess NE to the accessible cell.

Note: After the EMC service is terminated, if the UE or the coremanagement NE has no Allowed CSG List of the UE and the target area is aCSG area, the UE or the core management NE initiates a detach procedureto detach the UE or initiates a location update procedure to migrate theUE from the target access NE to the accessible cell.

Alternatively, the UE or the core management NE may start a timer. Afterexpiry of the timer, the UE or the core management NE initiates a detachprocedure to detach the UE or initiates a location update procedure tomigrate the UE from the target access NE to the accessible cell.

The core management NE obtains the progress of the EMC service in manyways. For example, after receiving a bearer deletion request, whichrequests the core management NE to delete the bearer used by the EMCservice, the core management NE believes that the EMC service of the UEis terminated.

Note: The CSG ID of the target access NE in this embodiment may be a CSGID of another target area (such as a target cell). In this case, theprocessing mode is the same except that the CSG ID of the target accessNE is replaced with the CSG ID of another target area.

In conclusion, the second embodiment of the present invention provides amechanism for processing the EMC service during handover, and suchmechanism ensures continuity of the EMC service while implementing theaccess control under the CSG mechanism.

Mode 2:

FIGS. 4A and 4B illustrate the network structure and the methodprocedure of mode 2. The procedure includes the following steps:

Step 401: The source access NE makes a handover decision, that is,decides to hand over the UE to a target access NE. The source access NEsends a Handover Required message to the source core management NE.Alternatively, the source access NE adds the CSG ID of the target accessNE to this message.

Step 402: The source core management NE sends a Forward RelocationRequest message to the target core management NE. Alternatively, thesource core management NE adds the CSG ID of the target access NE tothis message. Alternatively, the source core management NE adds theAllowed CSG List of the UE to this message.

Step 403: The target core management NE sends a Handover Request messageto the target access NE.

The target access NE may be a home WAP (such as the HNB or HeNB or Homenon-3GPP WAP), or a WAP with CSG functions (for example, the NodeB, oreNodeB, or non-3GPP WAP).

Step 404: The target access NE returns a Handover Request Ack message tothe target core management NE. Alternatively, the target access NE addsthe CSG ID of the target access NE to this message.

When a target AGW exists in the network, the Handover Request message issent to the core management NE through the target AGW. FIGS. 4A and 4Billustrate the scenario in which a target AGW exists.

Step 405: The target core management NE makes a handover decision. Thisstep includes:

Step 4051: The target core management NE obtains the CSG ID of thetarget access NE and the Allowed CSG List of the UE.

The target core management NE may obtain the Allowed CSG List of the UEfrom the HSS, and may obtain the CSG ID of the target access NE in thesame way as step 371 above. Moreover, in mode 2:

The target core management NE may obtain the CSG ID of the target accessNE by receiving a Forward Relocation Request message from the coremanagement NE of the source network, where the message carries the CSGID of the target access NE.

Or the target core management NE receives a Handover Request Ack messagefrom the target access NE, where the message carries the CSG ID of thetarget access NE.

Step 4052: The target core management NE controls the access of the UEto the target access NE according to whether the CSG ID of the targetaccess NE exists in the Allowed CSG List of the UE and whether an EMCservice exists on the UE.

Step 4052 is the same as step 372 above except that: In mode 1, the UEis handed over to the target access NE first; the core management NErejects the access by only initiating a detach procedure to detach theUE or initiating a location update procedure to migrate the UE to anaccessible cell; and in mode 2, the core management NE rejects theaccess of the UE to the target access NE by rejecting the access of theUE to the target access NE directly, or allowing the UE to access thetarget access NE first and then initiating a detach procedure or alocation update procedure.

Alternatively, if the target core management NE obtains the CSG ID ofthe target access NE through step 402 above, this step may occur afterstep 402, namely, this step may occur after the target core managementNE receives the Forward Relocation Request message from the source coremanagement NE.

If the CSG ID of the target access NE does not exist in the Allowed CSGList of the UE and no EMC service exists on the UE, and, if the targetcore management NE rejects the UE handover, the target core managementNE returns a Forward Relocation Response message directly whichindicates handover rejection to the source core management NE, and step403 and step 404 are omitted. The Forward Relocation Response messagesent by the target core management NE carries an indication, indicatingthat the handover rejection is triggered by restricted CSG access. Forexample, the message carries a cause value “CSG Not Allowed”.

Note: If no Allowed CSG List of the UE exists in the target coremanagement NE and the target core management NE has obtained the CSG IDof the target area (or, in other words, the target core management NEobtains that the target area is a CSG area, the same hereinafter), thetarget core management NE rejects the access of the UE to the targetarea.

Or, if an EMC service exists on the UE, the core management NE allowsthe UE to access the target area; if no EMC service exists on the UE, noAllowed CSG List of the UE exists in the target core management NE, andthe target core management NE has obtained the CSG ID of the target area(or, in other words, the target core management NE obtains that thetarget area is a CSG area, the same hereinafter), the target coremanagement NE rejects the access of the UE to the target area.

Step 406: The target core management NE returns a Forward RelocationResponse message to the source core management NE.

The target core management NE notifies the handover decision (namely,handover success or handover rejection) to the source core management NEthrough the Forward Relocation Response message.

Step 407: If the target core management NE indicates handover success,the source core management NE sends a Handover Command message to thesource access NE.

If the target core management NE indicates handover rejection, thesource core management NE sends a Handover Reject message to the sourceaccess NE. The Handover Reject message may carry an indication,indicating that the handover rejection is triggered by restricted CSGaccess. For example, the message carries a cause value “CSG NotAllowed”.

Step 408: If the source access NE receives a Handover Command message,the source access NE sends the Handover Command message to the UE,instructing the UE to be handed over to the target access NE. If theHandover Reject message received by the source access NE carries anindication indicating that the handover rejection is triggered byrestricted CSG access, the source access NE will not select this targetaccess NE for initiating a handover procedure any longer subsequently.

Step 409: If the target core management NE allows the UE to access thetarget management NE, the UE is handed over to the target access NE, andsends a Handover Confirm message to the target access NE.

Step 410: The target access NE sends a Handover Notify message to thetarget core management NE, indicating that the UE has been handed overto the target access NE.

If the target core management NE allows the UE to be handed over to thetarget access NE first and then initiates a detach procedure, thefollowing steps are included:

Step 411: The target core management NE sends a Detach Request messageto the UE. The Detach Request message may carry an indication,indicating that the detach request is triggered by restricted CSGaccess. For example, the Detach Request message carries a cause value“CSG Not Allowed”.

Step 412: The UE accepts the Detach Request, and returns a Detach Acceptmessage to the target core management NE.

Step 411 and step 412 are similar to step 38 and step 39 above.

If the target core management NE allows the UE to be handed over to thetarget access NE first and then initiates a location update procedure,the following steps are included:

Steps 413-420: similar to steps 40-47 above.

Further, if the UE is allowed to access the target access NE because anEMC service exists on the UE, after completion of the EMC service of theUE, step 420 and step 421 are included, which are similar to step 48 andstep 49 above.

Note: If the target core management NE obtains no Allowed CSG List ofthe UE in the handover procedure, the target core management NE performsno access control in the handover procedure. After completion of thehandover, the UE initiates a location update procedure, and sends anUpdate Request message to the target core management NE. In the locationupdate procedure, the target core management NE obtains the Allowed CSGList of the UE from the HSS, and then performs access control. Themethod of access control is the same as that described above.

In conclusion, the second embodiment of the present invention provides amechanism for processing the EMC service, and such mechanism ensurescontinuity of the EMC service while implementing the access controlunder the CSG mechanism.

Further, the second embodiment of the present invention provides amethod of access control performed when the UE moves to a new cell andinitiates a location update procedure.

Note: Further, the second embodiment of the present invention provides amethod of access control performed when the UE changes from an idlestate to a connection state and initiates a service request procedure.

In this case, the core management NE of the target network implementsaccess control for the UE. The access control method includes:

The core management NE of the target network allows the UE to access thetarget access NE if an EMC service exists on the UE.

Or the core management NE of the target network allows the UE to accessthe target access NE if the CSG ID of the target access NE exists in theAllowed CSG List of the UE.

Or the core management NE of the target network rejects the access ofthe UE to the target access NE if at least one of the foregoingconditions is not fulfilled.

The core management NE of the target network obtains the CSG ID of thetarget access NE and the Allowed CSG List of the UE in the same way asthe method described above except for the following differences:

The core management NE of the target network is unable to obtain the CSGID of the target access NE or the Allowed CSG List of the UE throughmessage interactions in the handover scenario, but obtains the CSG ID ofthe target access NE and the Allowed CSG List of the UE through messageinteractions in a location update procedure. For example:

The UE initiates a location update procedure, and sends an UpdateRequest message to the target core management NE. The Update Requestmessage sent by the target access NE to the target core management NEcarries the CSG ID of the target access NE.

Note: The UE initiates a service request procedure, and sends a servicerequest message to the target core management NE (namely, the coremanagement NE accessed by the UE). The service request message sent bythe target access NE (namely, the access NE accessed by the UE) carriesthe CSG ID of the target area (namely, the area accessed by the UE) tothe target core management NE.

Note: An Initial UE Message sent by the target access NE carries theUpdate Request message to the target core management NE, and carries theCSG ID of the target access NE.

The Initial UE Message sent by the target access NE carries the servicerequest message to the target core management NE, and carries the CSG IDof the target access NE.

The core management NE of the target network sends an Update Locationmessage to the HSS according to the Update Request message.

After receiving the Update Location message, the HSS sends an UpdateLocation Ack message to the core management NE of the target network,and the Update Location Ack message carries the Allowed CSG List of theUE.

Note: In the service request procedure, the target core management NEdoes not need to exchange messages with the HSS because the UEsubscription information already exists in the target core managementNE.

If no Allowed CSG List exists on the UE subscription information, thesubscription information obtained by the target core management NE fromthe HSS includes no Allowed CSG List of the UE.

Note: The CSG ID of the target access NE in this embodiment may be a CSGID of another target area (such as a target cell). In this case, theprocessing mode is the same except that the CSG ID of the target accessNE is replaced with the CSG ID of another target area.

Scenario 2:

The NE of the source network implements access control during locationarea handover.

Depending on the network topology and the handover procedure, scenario 2includes two modes.

Mode 1:

FIG. 5 illustrates the network structure and the method procedure ofmode 1. The procedure includes the following steps:

Step 501: The source access NE obtains the Allowed CSG List of the UE.The source access NE may obtain the Allowed CSG List of the UE in thefollowing way:

(1) When the UE accesses the core management NE, the core management NEsends the Allowed CSG List of the UE to the source access NE.

For example, in the access procedure, for an E-UTRAN, the MME sends anInitial Context Setup Request message that carries the Allowed CSG Listof the UE to the source access NE; for a UTRAN, the SGSN sends anInformation Transfer Indication message that carries the Allowed CSGList of the UE to the source access NE;

Or,

(2) The HMS or the BAM system of the operator sends a message to theaccess NE. The Allowed CSG List of the UE is configured in the HMS orthe BAM system (such as the OSS, BOSS or OMC) of the operator.

For example, after the access NE is powered on, the access NE sends aRegister Request message to the HMS or the BAM system of the operator.The HMS or the BAM system of the operator returns a Register Responsemessage that carries the Allowed CSG List of the UE to the access NE.

Note: If the subscription information of the UE includes no Allowed CSGList, the source access NE is unable to obtain the Allowed CSG List ofthe UE.

Step 502: The source access NE makes a handover decision. This stepincludes:

The source access NE decides whether to hand over the UE to the targetaccess NE according to whether the CSG ID of the target access NE existsin the Allowed CSG List of the UE and/or whether an EMC service existson the UE.

(1) If the CSG ID of the target access NE exists in the Allowed CSG Listof the UE, the source access NE can initiate a handover procedure andthe UE can be handed over to the target access NE.

(2) If an EMC service exists on the UE, the source access NE caninitiate a handover procedure and the UE can be handed over to thetarget access NE.

(3) If no EMC service exists on the UE and no CSG ID of the targetaccess NE exists in the Allowed CSG List of the UE, the source access NEis unable to select this target access NE to initiate a handoverprocedure.

Note: If the target area is a CSG area and no Allowed CSG List of the UEexists, the source access NE is unable to select this target area toinitiate a handover procedure.

Or, if no EMC service exists on the UE, the target area is a CSG areaand no Allowed CSG List of the UE exists, the source access NE is unableto select this target area to initiate a handover procedure.

The source access NE may select a target access NE for initiating thehandover procedure according to the two conditions above in many ways,and it does not matter which of the two conditions is judged first.Preferably, this embodiment judges the two conditions in the followingway:

The source access NE judges whether an EMC service exists on the UEfirst. If an EMC service exists on the UE, the source access NE selectsthis target access NE to initiate a handover procedure no matter whetherthe CSG ID of the target access NE exists in the Allowed CSG List of theUE (that is, the source access NE does not judge whether the CSG ID ofthe target access NE exists in the Allowed CSG List of the UE). If noEMC service exists on the UE, the source access NE judges whether theCSG ID of the target access NE exists in the Allowed CSG List of the UE,and selects this target access NE to initiate the handover procedure ifthe CSG ID of the target access NE exists in the Allowed CSG List of theUE, or cannot select this target access NE to initiate the handoverprocedure if the CSG ID of the target access NE does not exist in theAllowed CSG List of the UE.

The source access NE may judge whether the CSG ID of the target accessNE exists in the Allowed CSG List of the UE first, and select thistarget access NE to initiate the handover procedure (that is, the sourceaccess NE does not judge whether an EMC service exists on the UE) if theCSG ID of the target access NE exists in the Allowed CSG List of the UE.If no CSG ID of the target access NE exists in the Allowed CSG List ofthe UE, the source access NE judges whether an EMC service exists on theUE, and selects this target access NE to initiate the handover procedureif an EMC service exists on the UE, or cannot select this target accessNE to initiate the handover procedure if no EMC service exists on theUE.

Note: If the target area is a CSG area and no Allowed CSG List of the UEexists, the source access NE is unable to select this target area toinitiate a handover procedure.

Or, if an EMC service exists on the UE, the source access NE can selecta target area to initiate handover; if no EMC service exists on the UE,the target area is a CSG area, and no Allowed CSG List of the UE exists,the source access NE cannot select this target area to initiate ahandover procedure.

The source access NE judges whether an EMC service exists on the UE inthe same way as the core management NE judges whether the EMC serviceexists on the UE in step 372.

When the source access NE selects the target access NE to initiate ahandover procedure, the following steps are included:

Step 503: The source access NE sends a Handover Request message to thetarget access NE.

Alternatively, if no CSG ID of the target access NE exists in theAllowed CSG List of the UE, and an EMC service exists on the UE, thismessage sent by the source access NE may carry only the informationabout the bearer used by the EMC service.

Note: Alternatively, if the target area is a CSG area, no Allowed CSGList of the UE exists, and an EMC service exists on the UE, this messagesent by the source access NE may carry only the information about thebearer used by the EMC service.

The target access NE may be a home WAP (such as the HNB or HeNB or Homenon-3GPP WAP), or a WAP with CSG functions (for example, the NodeB, oreNodeB, or non-3GPP WAP).

Step 504: The target access NE returns a Handover Request Ack message tothe source access NE.

Step 505: The source access NE sends a Handover Command message to theUE, instructing the UE to be handed over to the target access NE.

Step 506: The UE is handed over to the target access NE, and sends aHandover Confirm message to the target access NE.

Step 507: The target access NE sends a Path Switch Request message tothe core management NE.

The target access NE may add the CSG ID of the target access NE to thismessage. If the message sent by the source access NE to the targetaccess NE in step 2 carries only the information about the bearer usedby the EMC service, the message sent by the target access NE in thisstep carries only the information about the bearer used by the EMCservice, for example, Tunnel End Point Identifier (TEID) of the accessNE used by the bearer.

Note: If a target AGW exists, this message is sent to the coremanagement NE through the target AGW.

Step 508: The core management NE returns a Path Switch Request Ackmessage to the target access NE.

Step 509: If the message sent by the target access NE in step 503carries only the information about the bearer used by the EMC service,or if the core management NE determines that no CSG ID of the targetaccess NE exists in the Allowed CSG List of the UE, and that an EMCservice exists on the UE, the core management NE may initiate a bearerdeletion procedure to delete the bearer used by the non-EMC service(that is, reserve only the bearer used by the EMC service). That is, ifno CSG ID of the target access NE exists in the Allowed CSG List of theUE, only the bearer used by the EMC service is allowed to access thetarget access NE, and the bearers used by non-EMC services are notallowed to access the target access NE, thus maximally ensuring that theaccess control mechanism for the UE during handover is consistent withthe CSG mechanism.

Note: If the target area is a CSG area, no Allowed CSG List of the UEexists in the core management NE, and an EMC service exists on the UE,the core management NE may initiate a bearer deletion procedure todelete the bearers used by non-EMC services (that is, reserve only thebearer used by the EMC service).

Note: The procedure for deleting the bearers used by non-EMC servicesmay also be initiated by the source access NE. If the source access NEin step 502 determines that no CSG ID of the target access NE exists inthe Allowed CSG List of the UE and that an EMC service exists on the UE,the source access NE instructs the core management NE to delete thebearers used by non-EMC services, and the core management NE initiates abearer deletion procedure to delete the bearers used by non-EMCservices. The source access NE may instruct the core management NE todelete the bears used by non-EMC services in step 502, or in 504 after aHandover Request Ack message is received.

Note: If the target area is a CSG area, no Allowed CSG List of the UEexists in the source access NE, and an EMC service exists on the UE, thesource access NE instructs the core management NE to delete the bearersused by non-EMC services, and the core management NE initiates a bearerdeletion procedure to delete the bearers used by non-EMC services.

Step 510: When the EMC service of the UE is terminated and no CSG ID ofthe target access NE exists in the Allowed CSG List of the UE, the UE orthe core management NE initiates a detach procedure to detach the UE, orinitiates an update procedure to migrate the UE from the target accessNE to the accessible cell, as detailed in steps 38-49 above.

Note: When the EMC service of the UE is terminated, the target area is aCSG area, and no Allowed CSG List of the UE exists on the UE or the coremanagement NE, the UE or the core management NE initiates a detachprocedure to detach the UE, or initiates an update procedure to migratethe UE from the target area to the accessible cell, as detailed in steps38-49 above.

Note: The CSG ID of the target access NE in this embodiment may be a CSGID of another target area (such as a target cell). In this case, theprocessing mode is the same except that the CSG ID of the target accessNE is replaced with the CSG ID of another target area.

Note: The mechanism described in this embodiment may be also applied tothe source access-side gateway to make a handover decision. Theprocessing method is the same as the foregoing steps except that thesource access NE is replaced with the source access-side gateway. Thesource access-side gateway may be a home WAP GW (such as the HNB GW orHeNB GW or Home non-3GPP WAP GW).

In this embodiment, the source access NE obtains the Allowed CSG List ofthe UE and the CSG ID of the target access gateway, and decides whetherto hand over the UE to the target access NE according to suchinformation and/or according to whether an EMC service exists on the UE.If no CSG ID of the target access NE exists in the Allowed CSG List ofthe UE, and no EMC service exists on the UE, the source access NE doesnot select this target access NE to initiate the handover procedure,thus implementing access control under the CSG mechanism.

If no CSG ID of the target access NE exists in the Allowed CSG List ofthe UE, but an EMC service exists on the UE, the source access NE canselect this target access NE to initiate the handover procedure, thusensuring continuity of the EMC service when the UE moves to the coveragearea of the target access NE and is handed over to the target access NE.

Mode 2:

FIG. 6 illustrates a network structure and a method procedure in mode 2.In the network architecture shown in FIG. 6, the source access NE orsource core management NE may make the handover decision. For the methodof the source access NE making the handover decision, see mode 1 ofscenario 2 in the second embodiment of the present invention.

The following describes the method of the source core management NEmaking the handover decision in the network architecture shown in FIG.6. The method includes the following steps:

Step 601: The source access NE makes a handover decision, that is,decides to hand over the UE to a target access NE. The source access NEsends a Handover Required message to the source core management NE.Alternatively, this message sent by the source access NE carries the CSGID of the target access NE, or carries the cell ID of the target accessNE.

If no CSG ID of the target access NE exists in the Allowed CSG List ofthe UE, but an EMC service exists on the UE, the Handover Requiredmessage sent by the source access NE may carry an indication, indicatingthat the source core management NE only needs to send the informationabout the bearer used by the EMC service to the target core managementNE. For example, the message carries a Bearer Setup List InformationElement (IE), and this IE carries only the information about the bearerused by the EMC service.

Note: If the target area is a CSG area, and no Allowed CSG List of theUE exists in the source access NE, but an EMC service exists on the UE,the Handover Required message sent by the source access NE may carry anindication, indicating that the source core management NE only needs tosend the information about the bearer used by the EMC service to thetarget core management NE. For example, the message carries a BearerSetup List IE, and this IE carries only the information about the bearerused by the EMC service.

Step 602: The source core management NE makes a handover decision. Thisstep includes:

Step 6021: The source core management NE obtains the CSG ID of thetarget access NE and the Allowed CSG List of the UE.

The source core management NE obtains the Allowed CSG List of the UEfrom the HSS.

The source core management NE may obtain the CSG ID of the target accessNE in the following way:

receive a Handover Required message sent by the source access NE, wherethe message carries the CSG ID of the target access NE; or

search a table of mapping relations between an ID of the target accessNE and the CSG ID, and obtain the CSG ID of the target access NEaccording to the ID of the target access NE, where the table of mappingrelations between an ID of the target access NE and the CSG ID isconfigured in the source core management NE, or the HMS, or the BAMsystem of the operator; or

obtain the CSG ID of the target access NE according to the cell ID ofthe target access NE. The cell ID includes the CSG ID of the targetaccess NE, and is reported to the source core management NE through theHandover Required message.

Note: If no Allowed CSG List of the UE exists on the UE subscriptioninformation, the source core management NE obtains no Allowed CSG Listof the UE.

Step 6022: The source core management NE controls the access of the UEto the target access NE according to whether the CSG ID of the targetaccess NE exists in the Allowed CSG List of the UE and/or whether an EMCservice exists on the UE.

The source core management NE allows the UE to access the target accessNE if an EMC service exists on the UE.

Or the source core management NE allows the UE to access the targetaccess NE if the CSG ID of the target access NE exists in the AllowedCSG List of the UE.

Or the source core management NE rejects the access of the UE to thetarget access NE if at least one of the foregoing conditions is notfulfilled.

The source core management NE controls the access of the UE to thetarget access NE according to the two conditions above in many ways, andit does not matter which of the two conditions is judged first.Preferably, this embodiment judges the two conditions in the followingway:

The source core management NE judges whether an EMC service exists onthe UE first. If an EMC service exists on the UE, the source coremanagement NE accepts the Handover Required message of the source accessNE no matter whether the CSG ID of the target access NE exists in theAllowed CSG List of the UE (that is, the source core management NE doesnot judge whether the CSG ID of the target access NE exists in theAllowed CSG List of the UE). If no EMC service exists on the UE, thesource core management NE judges whether the CSG ID of the target accessNE exists in the Allowed CSG List of the UE, and accepts the HandoverRequired message of the source access NE if the CSG ID of the targetaccess NE exists in the Allowed CSG List of the UE, or rejects theHandover Required message of the source access NE if no CSG ID of thetarget access NE exists in the Allowed CSG List of the UE.

The source core management NE may judge whether the CSG ID of the targetaccess NE exists in the Allowed CSG List of the UE first, and accept theHandover Required message of the source access NE (that is, the sourcecore management NE does not judge whether an EMC service exists on theUE) if the CSG ID of the target access NE exists in the Allowed CSG Listof the UE. If no CSG ID of the target access NE exists in the AllowedCSG List of the UE, the source core management NE judges whether an EMCservice exists on the UE, and accepts the Handover Required message ofthe source access NE if an EMC service exists on the UE, or rejects theHandover Required message of the source access NE if no EMC serviceexists on the UE.

Note: If no Allowed CSG List of the UE exists in the source coremanagement NE, and the target area is a CSG area, the source coremanagement NE rejects the Handover Required message of the source accessNE.

Or, if an EMC service exists on the UE, the source core management NEaccepts the Handover Required message of the source access NE; if no EMCservice exists on the UE, no Allowed CSG List of the UE exists in thesource core management NE, and the target area is a CSG area, the sourcecore management NE rejects the Handover Required message of the sourceaccess NE.

Step 603: If the source core management NE rejects the Handover Requiredmessage of the source access NE, the source core management NE sends aHandover Reject message to the source access NE.

The Handover Reject message may carry an indication, indicating that therejection is triggered by restricted CSG access (for example, themessage carries a cause value “CSG Not Allowed”), or the Handover Rejectmessage carries the Allowed CSG List of the UE, and therefore, thesource access NE will not select this target access NE for handoversubsequently.

Alternatively, if the source core management NE accepts the HandoverRequired message of the source access NE, or does not make the foregoinghandover decision (but the source access NE makes the handover decisioninstead), step 603 may be:

The source core management NE sends a Forward Relocation Request messageto the target core management NE.

If no CSG ID of the target access NE exists in the Allowed CSG List ofthe UE, and an EMC service exists on the UE, the Forward RelocationRequest message may carry only the information about the bearer used bythe EMC service.

Note: If the target area is a CSG area, no Allowed CSG List of the UEexists, but an EMC service exists on the UE, the Forward RelocationRequest message may carry only the information about the bearer used bythe EMC service.

When the UE registers with the source core management NE, the sourcecore management NE may obtain the Allowed CSG List of the UE from theHSS. For example, the source core management NE sends an Update Locationmessage to the HSS, and the HSS returns an Update Location Ack messagethat carries the Allowed CSG List of the UE to the source coremanagement NE.

Note: If no Allowed CSG List exists on the UE subscription information,the subscription information obtained by the source core management NEfrom the HSS includes no Allowed CSG List of the UE.

Step 604: The target core management NE sends a Handover Request messageto the target access NE.

The target access NE may be a home WAP (such as the HNB or HeNB or Homenon-3GPP WAP), or a WAP with CSG functions (for example, the NodeB, oreNodeB, or non-3GPP WAP).

Step 605: The target access NE returns a Handover Request Ack message tothe target core management NE. The target access NE may add the CSG IDof the target access NE to this message.

Note: If an AGW exists, the target access NE interacts with the targetcore management NE through the target AGW.

Step 606: The target core management NE returns a Forward RelocationResponse message to the source core management NE.

Step 607: The source core management NE sends a Handover Command messageto the source access NE.

Step 608: The source access NE sends a Handover Command message to theUE, instructing the UE to be handed over to the target access NE.

Step 609: The UE is handed over to the target access NE, and sends aHandover Confirm message to the target access NE.

Step 610: The target access NE sends a Handover Notify message to thetarget core management NE, indicating that the UE has been handed overto the target access NE.

Step 611: If the message sent by the target access NE in step 603carries information about the bearer used by the EMC service, or, if thetarget core management NE determines that no CSG ID of the target accessNE exists in the Allowed CSG List of the UE but an EMC service exists onthe UE, the target core management NE may initiate a bearer deletionprocedure to delete the bearers used by non-EMC services (that is,reserve only the bearer used by the EMC service).

Note: If the target area is a CSG area, no Allowed CSG List of the UEexists, and an EMC service exists on the UE, the target core managementNE may initiate a bearer deletion procedure to delete the bearers usedby non-EMC services (that is, reserve only the bearer used by the EMCservice).

Note: The procedure for deleting the bearers used by non-EMC servicesmay also be initiated by the source access NE. If the source access NEin step 601 determines that no CSG ID of the target access NE exists inthe Allowed CSG List of the UE and that an EMC service exists on the UE,the source access NE instructs the source core management NE to deletethe bearers used by non-EMC services, and the source core management NEinitiates a bearer deletion procedure to delete the bearers used bynon-EMC services. The source access NE may instruct the source coremanagement NE to delete the bears used by non-EMC services in step 601,or in step 607 after the Handover Command message is received.

Note: If the target area is a CSG area, no Allowed CSG List of the UEexists, and an EMC service exists on the UE, the source access NEinstructs the source core management NE to delete the bearers used bynon-EMC services, and the source core management NE initiates a bearerdeletion procedure to delete the bearers used by non-EMC services.

The procedure for deleting the bearers used by non-EMC services may alsobe initiated by the source core management NE. If the source coremanagement NE in step 602 determines that no CSG ID of the target accessNE exists in the Allowed CSG List of the UE but an EMC service exists onthe UE, the source core management NE initiates a bearer deletionprocedure to delete the bearers used by non-EMC services. The sourcecore management NE may initiate the bearer deletion procedure to deletethe bears used by non-EMC services in step 602, or in step 606 after aForward Relocation Response message is received.

Note: If the target area is a CSG area, no Allowed CSG List of the UEexists, and an EMC service exists on the UE, the source core managementNE initiates a bearer deletion procedure to delete the bearers used bynon-EMC services.

Step 612: When the EMC service of the UE is terminated and no CSG ID ofthe target access NE exists in the Allowed CSG List of the UE, the UE orthe target core management NE initiates a detach procedure to detach theUE, or initiates an update procedure to migrate the UE from the targetaccess NE to the accessible cell.

Note: When the EMC service of the UE is terminated, the target area is aCSG area, and no Allowed CSG List of the UE exists, the UE or the targetcore management NE initiates a detach procedure to detach the UE, orinitiates an update procedure to migrate the UE from the target area tothe accessible cell.

In this embodiment, the NE of the source network obtains the Allowed CSGList of the UE and decides whether to hand over the UE to the targetaccess NE according to such information and/or according to whether anEMC service exists on the UE.

If no CSG ID of the target access NE exists in the Allowed CSG List ofthe UE, and no EMC service exists on the UE, the source access NE doesnot select this target access NE to initiate a handover procedure or thesource core management NE rejects the handover requirement of the sourceaccess NE, thus implementing access control under the CSG mechanism.

If no CSG ID of the target access NE exists in the Allowed CSG List ofthe UE, but an EMC service exists on the UE, the source access NE canselect this target access NE to initiate the handover procedure or thesource core management NE accepts the handover requirement of the sourceaccess NE, thus ensuring continuity of the EMC service when the UE movesto the coverage area of the target access NE and is handed over to thetarget access NE.

Note: The CSG ID of the target access NE in this embodiment may be a CSGID of another target area (such as a target cell). In this case, theprocessing mode is the same except that the CSG ID of the target accessNE is replaced with the CSG ID of another target area.

Scenario 3:

The target access NE implements access control during handover.

Depending on the network topology and the handover procedure, scenario 3includes two modes.

Mode 1:

FIG. 13 illustrates the network structure and the method procedure ofmode 1. The procedure includes the following steps:

Step 131: The source access NE makes a handover decision, that is,decides to hand over the UE to a target access NE. The source access NEsends a Handover Request message to the target access NE. Alternatively,the source access NE may add the CSG ID of the target area to theHandover Request message. The Handover Request message of the sourceaccess NE carries the Allowed CSG List of the UE.

Note: If no Allowed CSG List of the UE exists in the source access NE,the Handover Request message carries no Allowed CSG List of the UE.

Step 132: The target access NE makes a handover decision. This stepincludes:

Step 1321: The target access NE obtains the CSG ID of the target areaand the Allowed CSG List of the UE.

The Allowed CSG List of the UE is sent by the source access NE to thetarget access NE.

The target access NE may obtain the CSG ID of the target area in atleast one of the following ways:

(1) Receive a Handover Request message from the source access NE, wherethe Handover Request message carries the CSG ID of the target area.

(2) Search a table of mapping relations between an ID of the target areaand the CSG ID, and obtain the CSG ID of the target area according tothe ID of the target area, where the table of mapping relations betweenan ID of the target access NE and the CSG ID is configured in the targetaccess NE, or obtained by the target access NE from the HMS or the BAMsystem of the operator.

(3) Obtain the CSG ID of the target area according to the cell ID of thetarget area. The cell ID includes the CSG ID of the target area, and isnotified by the source access NE to the target access NE through aHandover Request message.

Note: If the source access NE does not notify the Allowed CSG List ofthe UE to the target access NE, the target access NE obtains no AllowedCSG List of the UE.

Step 1322: The target access NE controls the access of the UE to thetarget area according to whether the CSG ID of the target area exists inthe Allowed CSG List of the UE and/or whether an EMC service exists onthe UE.

(1) If the CSG ID of the target area exists in the Allowed CSG List ofthe UE, the target access NE accepts the Handover Request message, andthe UE can be handed over to the target area.

(2) If an EMC service exists on the UE, the target access NE accepts theHandover Request message, and the UE can be handed over to the targetarea.

(3) If no EMC service exists on the UE and no CSG ID of the target areaexists in the Allowed CSG List of the UE, the target access NE rejectsthe Handover Request message.

Note: If the target area is a CSG area and no Allowed CSG List of the UEexists, the target access NE rejects the Handover Request message.

Or if no EMC service exists on the UE, the target area is a CSG area,and no Allowed CSG List of the UE exists, the target access NE rejectsthe Handover Request message.

The target access NE makes the handover decision in the following way:

The target access NE judges whether an EMC service exists on the UE;and, if an EMC service exists on the UE, accepts the Handover Requestmessage. If no EMC service exists on the UE, the target access NE judgeswhether the CSG ID of the target area exists in the Allowed CSG List ofthe UE, and accepts the Handover Request message if the CSG ID of thetarget area exists in the Allowed CSG List of the UE, or rejects theHandover Request message if no CSG ID of the target area exists in theAllowed CSG List of the UE.

Or, the target access NE judges whether the CSG ID of the target areaexists in the Allowed CSG List of the UE, and, if the CSG ID of thetarget area exists in the Allowed CSG List of the UE, accepts theHandover Request message. If no CSG ID of the target area exists in theAllowed CSG List of the UE, the target access NE judges whether an EMCservice exists on the UE, and accepts the Handover Request message if anEMC service exists on the UE, or rejects the Handover Request message ifno EMC service exists on the UE.

Note: If the target area is a CSG area and no Allowed CSG List of the UEexists, the target access NE rejects the Handover Request message.

Or, if an EMC service exists on the UE, the target access NE accepts theHandover Request message; if no EMC service exists on the UE, no AllowedCSG List of the UE exists, and the target area is a CSG area, the targetaccess NE rejects the Handover Request message.

The target access NE judges whether the CSG ID of the target area existsin the Allowed CSG List of the UE in the same way as the core managementNE judges whether the CSG ID of the target area exists in the AllowedCSG List of the UE in step 372.

The target access NE judges whether an EMC service exists on the UE inthe same way as the core management NE judges whether the EMC serviceexists on the UE in step 372.

Step 133: If the target access NE accepts the Handover Request messagein step 132, the target access NE returns a Handover Request Ack messageto the source access NE; if the target access NE rejects the HandoverRequest message in step 132, the target access NE returns a HandoverReject message to the source access NE. The Handover Reject message maycarry an indication, indicating that the rejection is triggered byrestricted CSG access (for example, the message carries a cause value“CSG Not Allowed”), and therefore, the source access NE will not selectthis target area for handover subsequently.

Step 134: If the source access NE receives a Handover Request Ackmessage in step 133, the source access NE sends a Handover Commandmessage to the UE, instructing the UE to be handed over to the targetaccess NE.

Step 135: The UE is handed over to the target access NE, and sends aHandover Confirm message to the target access NE.

Step 136: The target access NE sends a Path Switch Request message tothe core management NE.

If a target AGW exists in the network, the Path Switch Request messageis sent to the core management NE through the target AGW.

Alternatively, if no CSG ID of the target area exists in the Allowed CSGList of the UE, but an EMC service exists on the UE, the Path SwitchRequest message sent by the target access NE carries only theinformation about the bearer used by the EMC service.

Note: Alternatively, if the target area is a CSG area, no Allowed CSGList of the UE exists, but an EMC service exists on the UE, the PathSwitch Request message sent by the target access NE carries only theinformation about the bearer used by the EMC service.

Step 137: The core management NE returns a Path Switch Request Ackmessage to the target access NE.

Alternatively, if no CSG ID of the target area exists in the Allowed CSGList of the UE, but an EMC service exists on the UE, step 138 isperformed: The core management NE initiates a bearer deletion procedureto delete the bearers used by non-EMC services.

Or, the target access NE instructs the core management NE to initiate abearer deletion procedure to delete the bearers used by non-EMCservices. The target access NE may instruct the core management NE toinitiate the bearer deletion procedure after receiving a HandoverConfirm message in step 132 or step 135.

Note: Alternatively, if the target area is a CSG area, no Allowed CSGList of the UE exists, but an EMC service exists on the UE, step 138 isperformed: The core management NE initiates a bearer deletion procedureto delete the bearers used by non-EMC services.

Or, the target access NE instructs the core management NE to initiate abearer deletion procedure to delete the bearers used by non-EMCservices. The target access NE may instruct the core management NE toinitiate the bearer deletion procedure after receiving a HandoverConfirm message in step 132 or step 135.

Further, if the UE is allowed to access the target access NE because anEMC service exists on the UE, after completion of the EMC service of theUE, step 139 is performed. Step 139 is the same as step 49.

Note: The mechanism described in this embodiment may be also applied tothe target access-side gateway to make a handover decision. Theprocessing method is the same as the foregoing steps except that thetarget access NE is replaced with the target access-side gateway. Thetarget access-side gateway may be a home WAP GW (such as the HNB GW orHeNB GW or Home non-3GPP WAP GW).

Mode 2:

FIG. 14 illustrates the network structure and the method procedure ofmode 2. The procedure includes the following steps:

Step 1401: The source access NE makes a handover decision, that is,decides to hand over the UE to a target access NE. The source access NEsends a Handover Required message to the source core management NE.Alternatively, the source access NE adds the CSG ID of the target areato this message.

Step 1402: The source core management NE sends a Forward RelocationRequest message to the target core management NE. Alternatively, thesource core management NE adds the CSG ID of the target area to thismessage. Alternatively, the source core management NE adds the AllowedCSG List of the UE to this message.

Step 1403: The target core management NE sends a Handover Requestmessage to the target access NE. Alternatively, the target coremanagement NE adds the CSG ID of the target area to the Handover Requestmessage. The Handover Request message of the target core management NEcarries the Allowed CSG List of the UE.

Step 1404: The target access NE makes a handover decision. This stepincludes:

Step 14041: The target access NE obtains the CSG ID of the target areaand the Allowed CSG List of the UE.

The Allowed CSG List of the UE is notified by the target core managementNE to the target access NE.

Note: If no Allowed CSG List of the UE exists on the UE subscriptioninformation, the target AGW obtains no Allowed CSG List of the UE.

The target access NE may obtain the CSG ID of the target area in atleast one of the following ways:

(1) Receive a Handover Request message from the target core managementNE, where the Handover Request message carries the CSG ID of the targetarea.

(2) Search a table of mapping relations between an ID of the target areaand the CSG ID, and obtain the CSG ID of the target area according tothe ID of the target area, where the table of mapping relations betweenan ID of the target access NE and the CSG ID is configured in the targetaccess NE, or obtained by the target access NE from the HMS or the BAMsystem of the operator.

(3) Obtain the CSG ID of the target area according to the cell ID of thetarget area. The cell ID includes the CSG ID of the target area, and isnotified by the target core management NE to the target access NEthrough a Handover Request message.

Step 14042: The target access NE controls the access of the UE to thetarget area according to whether the CSG ID of the target area exists inthe Allowed CSG List of the UE and/or whether an EMC service exists onthe UE.

(1) If the CSG ID of the target area exists in the Allowed CSG List ofthe UE, the target access NE accepts the Handover Request message, andthe UE can be handed over to the target area.

(2) If an EMC service exists on the UE, the target access NE accepts theHandover Request message, and the UE can be handed over to the targetarea.

(3) If no EMC service exists on the UE and no CSG ID of the target areaexists in the Allowed CSG List of the UE, the target access NE rejectsthe Handover Request message.

Note: If the target area is a CSG area and no Allowed CSG List of the UEexists, the target access NE rejects the Handover Request message.

Or, if no EMC service exists on the UE, the target area is a CSG area,and no Allowed CSG List of the UE exists, the target access NE rejectsthe Handover Request message.

The target access NE makes the handover decision in the following way:

The target access NE judges whether an EMC service exists on the UE;and, if an EMC service exists on the UE, accepts the Handover Requestmessage. If no EMC service exists on the UE, the target access NE judgeswhether the CSG ID of the target area exists in the Allowed CSG List ofthe UE, and accepts the Handover Request message if the CSG ID of thetarget area exists in the Allowed CSG List of the UE, or rejects theHandover Request message if no CSG ID of the target area exists in theAllowed CSG List of the UE. Or,

The target access NE judges whether the CSG ID of the target area existsin the Allowed CSG List of the UE, and, if the CSG ID of the target areaexists in the Allowed CSG List of the UE, accepts the Handover Requestmessage. If no CSG ID of the target area exists in the Allowed CSG Listof the UE, the target access NE judges whether an EMC service exists onthe UE, and accepts the Handover Request message if an EMC serviceexists on the UE, or rejects the Handover Request message if no EMCservice exists on the UE.

Note: If no Allowed CSG List of the UE exists and the target area is aCSG area, the target access NE rejects the Handover Request message.

Or, if an EMC service exists on the UE, the target access NE accepts theHandover Request message; if no EMC service exists on the UE, no AllowedCSG List of the UE exists, and the target area is a CSG area, the targetaccess NE rejects the Handover Request message.

The target access NE judges whether the CSG ID of the target area existsin the Allowed CSG List of the UE in the same as the core management NEjudges whether the CSG ID of the target area exists in the Allowed CSGList of the UE in step 372.

The target access NE judges whether an EMC service exists on the UE inthe same way as the core management NE judges whether the EMC serviceexists on the UE in step 372.

Step 1405: If the target access NE accepts the Handover Request in step1404, the target access NE returns a Handover Request Ack message to thetarget core management NE. If the target access NE rejects the HandoverRequest in step 1404, the target access NE returns a Handover Rejectmessage to the target core management NE. The Handover Reject messagemay carry an indication, indicating that the rejection is triggered byrestricted CSG access (for example, the message carries a cause value“CSG Not Allowed”).

Step 1406: The target core management NE returns a Forward RelocationResponse message to the source core management NE.

If the target core management NE receives a Handover Reject message instep 1405, the target core management NE sends a Forward RelocationResponse message indicative of handover rejection to the source coremanagement NE. The Forward Relocation Response message may carry anindication, indicating that the handover rejection is triggered byrestricted CSG access, for example, the message carries a cause value“CSG Not Allowed”.

Step 1407: If the target core management NE indicates handover success,the source core management NE sends a Handover Command message to thesource access NE.

If the target core management NE indicates handover rejection, thesource core management NE sends a Handover Reject message to the sourceaccess NE. The Handover Reject message may carry an indication,indicating that the handover rejection is triggered by restricted CSGaccess. For example, the message carries a cause value “CSG NotAllowed”.

Step 1408: If the source access NE receives a Handover Command message,the source access NE sends the Handover Command message to the UE,instructing the UE to be handed over to the target access NE. If theHandover Reject message received by the source access NE carries anindication indicating that the handover rejection is triggered byrestricted CSG access, the source access NE will not select this targetaccess NE for initiating a handover procedure any longer subsequently.

Step 1409: If the target core management NE allows the UE to access thetarget management NE, the UE is handed over to the target access NE, andsends a Handover Confirm message to the target access NE.

Step 1410: The target access NE sends a Handover Notify message to thetarget core management NE, indicating that the UE has been handed overto the target access NE.

Alternatively, if no CSG ID of the target area exists in the Allowed CSGList of the UE, but an EMC service exists on the UE, step 1411 isperformed: The core management NE initiates a bearer deletion procedureto delete the bearers used by non-EMC services.

Or, the target access NE instructs the target core management NE toinitiate a bearer deletion procedure to delete the bearers used bynon-EMC services. The target access NE may instruct the core managementNE to initiate the bearer deletion procedure after receiving a HandoverConfirm message in step 1404 or step 1409.

Note: Alternatively, if the target area is a CSG area, no Allowed CSGList of the UE exists, but an EMC service exists on the UE, step 1411 isperformed: The core management NE initiates a bearer deletion procedureto delete the bearers used by non-EMC services. Or, the target access NEinstructs the target core management NE to initiate a bearer deletionprocedure to delete the bearers used by non-EMC services. The targetaccess NE may instruct the core management NE to initiate the bearerdeletion procedure after receiving a Handover Confirm message in step1404 or step 1409.

Further, if the UE is allowed to access the target access NE because anEMC service exists on the UE, after completion of the EMC service of theUE, step 1412 is performed, which is similar to step 49 above.

In conclusion, the second embodiment of the present invention provides amechanism for processing the EMC service, and such mechanism ensurescontinuity of the EMC service while implementing the access controlunder the CSG mechanism.

An access control apparatus applied during location area handover isprovided in the third embodiment of the present invention. As shown inFIG. 7, the access control apparatus includes:

an obtaining unit 71, configured to obtain a CSG ID of a target accessNE and an Allowed CSG List of a UE; and

an access control unit 72, configured to control the access of the UE tothe target access NE according to whether the CSG ID of the targetaccess NE exists in the Allowed CSG List of the UE and/or whether an EMCservice exists on the UE.

The obtaining unit 71 obtains the CSG ID of the target access NE in manyways, depending on the network topology of the access control apparatus.

For example, in the network topology of the access control apparatus, ifthe source core management NE and the target core management NE areintegrated in one NE, the obtaining unit 71 may obtain the CSG ID of thetarget access NE in the following way:

receive a Path Switch Request message from the target access NE, wherethe Path Switch Request message carries the CSG ID of the target accessNE; or

receive a Forward Relocation Request message from the core management NEof the source network, where the message carries the CSG ID of thetarget access NE; or

receive a Handover Request Ack message from the target access NE, wherethe message carries the CSG ID of the target access NE; or

search a table of mapping relations between an ID of the target accessNE and the CSG ID, and obtain the CSG ID of the target access NEaccording to the ID of the target access NE, where the table of mappingrelations between an ID of the target access NE and the CSG ID isconfigured in the core management NE of the target network, or the HMS,or the BAM system of the operator; or

obtain the CSG ID of the target access NE according to the cell ID ofthe target access NE, where the cell ID includes the CSG ID of thetarget access NE, and is reported to the core management NE of thetarget network through a Path Switch Request message or a ForwardRelocation Request message or a Handover Request Ack message.

For example, in the network topology of the access control apparatus, ifthe source core management NE and the target core management NE areconfigured in different NEs, the obtaining unit 71 may obtain the CSG IDof the target access NE in the following way:

receive a Handover Required message sent by the source access NE, wherethe message carries the CSG ID of the target access NE; or

search a table of mapping relations between an ID of the target accessNE and the CSG ID, and obtain the CSG ID of the target access NEaccording to the ID of the target access NE, where the table of mappingrelations between an ID of the target access NE and the CSG ID isconfigured in the source core management NE, or the HMS, or the BAMsystem of the operator; or

obtain the CSG ID of the target access NE according to the cell ID ofthe target access NE, where the cell ID includes the CSG ID of thetarget access NE, and is reported to the source core management NEthrough the Handover Required message.

The obtaining unit 71 may obtain the Allowed CSG List of the UE from theHSS. For example, the obtaining unit 71 sends an Update Location messageto the HSS, and the HSS returns an Update Location Ack message thatcarries the Allowed CSG List of the UE to the obtaining unit 71.

The access control unit 72 includes:

an access allowing module 721, configured to allow the UE to access thetarget access NE if an EMC service exists on the UE and/or the CSG ID ofthe target access NE exists in the Allowed CSG List of the UE; and

an access rejecting module 722, configured to reject the access of theUE to the target access NE if no EMC service exists on the UE and no CSGID of the target access NE exists in the Allowed CSG List of the UE.

Depending on the mode of denial or rejection, the access rejectingmodule 722 includes:

a handover rejecting module, configured to reject the UE to be handedover the access to the target access NE. The handover rejecting moduleinstructs the UE which has not accessed the target access NE not toaccess the target access NE if no EMC service exists on the UE and noCSG ID of the target access NE exists in the Allowed CSG List of the UE.

Alternatively, the access rejecting module 722 may reject access byallowing the UE to access the target access NE first. In this case, theaccess rejecting module 722 further includes a detaching module, whichis configured to detach the UE which has accessed the target access NE;or an update instructing module, which is configured to instruct the UEto initiate a location update procedure and instruct the UE to select anaccessible cell and initiate a location update procedure.

The detaching module sends a Detach Request message to the UE. TheDetach Request message may carry an indication, indicating that thedetach request is triggered by restricted CSG access. For example, theDetach Request message carries a cause value “CSG Not Allowed”. Thisindication instructs the UE to initiate an attach procedure and registerwith a mobile network of the operator through the selected cell. If theAllowed CSG List of the UE includes the CSG ID of the target access NE,the UE deletes the CSG ID of the target access NE from the Allowed CSGList of the UE.

The indication carried in the Detach Request message ensures that the UEaccesses a target access NE that allows access, after the UE is detachedfrom a target access NE where access is rejected.

The update instructing module sends a Release Command message to thetarget access NE first. The Release Command message carries anindication, indicating that location update needs to be initiatedbecause the access is restricted. For example, the Release Commandmessage carries a cause value “Access Restricted LU Required”. Afterreceiving the indication, the UE selects an accessible cell, forexample, a non-CSG cell such as a macro cell, or an accessible CSG cell(namely, the CSG cell corresponding to a CSG ID included in the AllowedCSG List, except the CSG ID of the target access NE), and then initiatesa location update procedure.

Depending on the network topology, the foregoing apparatus may be an NEin the source network, for example, a source access NE or a source coremanagement NE, or an NE in the target network, for example, a coremanagement NE or a target core management NE.

For the detailed working method of each functional entity in theapparatus embodiment, see the method embodiment.

Another access control apparatus applied during location area handoveris provided. As shown in FIG. 7, this access control apparatus includes:

an obtaining unit 71, configured to obtain that a target area is a CSGarea and that no Allowed CSG List of a UE exists; and

an access control unit 72, configured to control the access of the UE tothe target area according to the facts that the target area is a CSGarea and that no Allowed CSG List of the UE exists and/or according towhether an EMC service exists on the UE.

The access control unit 72 includes:

an access allowing module 721, configured to allow the UE to access thetarget area if the target area is a CSG area and no Allowed CSG List ofthe UE exists but an EMC service exists on the UE; and

an access rejecting module 722, configured to reject the access of theUE to the target area if the target area is a CSG area, no Allowed CSGList of the UE exists, and no EMC service exists on the UE; or rejectthe access of the UE to the target area if the target area is a CSG areaand no Allowed CSG List of the UE exists.

Depending on the mode of denial or rejection, the access rejectingmodule 722 includes a handover rejecting module, which is configured toreject the UE to be handed over to access the target access NE. Thehandover rejecting module instructs the UE which has not accessed thetarget access NE not to access the target access NE if no EMC serviceexists on the UE, the target area is a CSG area, and no Allowed CSG Listof the UE exists; or if the target area is a CSG area and no Allowed CSGList of the UE exists.

Alternatively, the access rejecting module 722 may reject access byallowing the UE to access the target access NE first. In this case, theaccess rejecting module 722 further includes a detaching module, whichis configured to detach the UE which has accessed the target access NE;or an update instructing module, which is configured to instruct the UEto initiate a location update procedure and instruct the UE to select anaccessible cell and initiate a location update procedure.

The detaching module sends a Detach Request message to the UE. TheDetach Request message may carry an indication, indicating that thedetach request is triggered by restricted CSG access. For example, theDetach Request message carries a cause value “CSG Not Allowed”. Thisindication instructs the UE to initiate an attach procedure and registerwith a mobile network of the operator through the selected cell. If theAllowed CSG List of the UE includes the CSG ID of the target access NE,the UE deletes the CSG ID of the target access NE from the Allowed CSGList of the UE.

In conclusion, the access control apparatus in the third embodiment ofthe present invention provides a mechanism for processing the EMCservice, and such mechanism ensures continuity of the EMC service whileimplementing the access control under the CSG mechanism.

As shown in FIG. 8, a communication system provided in the fourthembodiment of the present invention includes a target access NE 82 and acore management NE 83 of a target network.

The target access NE 82 is configured to access the UE.

The core management NE 83 of the target network is configured to obtaina CSG ID of the target access NE 82 and the Allowed CSG List of the UE,and control the access of the UE to the target access NE 82 according towhether the CSG ID of the target access NE exists in the Allowed CSGList of the UE and/or whether an EMC service exists on the UE, orcontrol the access of the UE to the target access NE 82 according to thefacts that the target area is a CSG area and that no Allowed CSG List ofthe UE exists and/or according to whether an EMC service exists on theUE.

The core management NE 83 of the target network may obtain the CSG ID ofthe target access NE 82 in the following way:

receive a Path Switch Request message from the target access NE, wherethe Path Switch Request message carries the CSG ID of the target accessNE; or

receive a Forward Relocation Request message from the core management NEof the source network, where the message carries the CSG ID of thetarget access NE; or

receive a Handover Request Ack message from the target access NE, wherethe message carries the CSG ID of the target access NE; or

search a table of mapping relations between an ID of the target accessNE and the CSG ID, and obtain the CSG ID of the target access NEaccording to the ID of the target access NE, where the table of mappingrelations between an ID of the target access NE and the CSG ID isconfigured in the core management NE of the target network, or the HMS,or the BAM system of the operator; or

obtain the CSG ID of the target access NE according to the cell ID ofthe target access NE, where the cell ID includes the CSG ID of thetarget access NE, and is reported to the core management NE of thetarget network through a Path Switch Request message or a ForwardRelocation Request message or a Handover Request Ack message.

The core management NE 83 of the target network may obtain the AllowedCSG List of the UE from the HSS. For example, the core management NE 83of the target network sends an Update Location message to the HSS, andthe HSS returns an Update Location Ack message that carries the AllowedCSG List of the UE to the core management NE 83 of the target network.

In the communication system provided in the fourth embodiment, the coremanagement NE of the target network judges whether the UE is allowed toaccess the target access NE. That is, the core management NE of thetarget network allows the UE to access the target access NE only if anEMC service exists on the UE or the CSG ID of the target access NEexists in the Allowed CSG List of the UE; or else, rejects the access ofthe UE to the target access NE.

That is, if the CSG ID of the target access NE does not exist in theAllowed CSG List of the UE, and no EMC service exists on the UE, thecore management NE in the target network initiates a detach procedure todetach the UE, or instructs the UE to initiate an update procedure andmigrate to the accessible cell. The detach procedure or update procedureensures that the access control mechanism for the UE during handover isconsistent with the CSG mechanism.

Alternatively, when the target core management NE controls the access ofthe UE to the target area according to the facts that the target area isa CSG area and that no Allowed CSG List of the UE exists and/oraccording to whether an EMC service exists on the UE, the control methodincludes: rejecting the access of the UE to the target area if thetarget area is a CSG area and no Allowed CSG List of the UE exists; or

allowing the UE to access the target area if the target area is a CSGarea and no Allowed CSG List of the UE exists but an EMC service existson the UE; or

rejecting the access of the UE to the target area if the target area isa CSG area, no Allowed CSG List of the UE exists, and no EMC serviceexists on the UE.

As shown in FIG. 8, the network topology of the foregoing communicationsystem further includes a source access NE 81.

In the scenario in which the UE is handed over from the source access NEto the target access NE, the source access NE 81 is configured to send aHandover Request message to the target access NE 82.

The target access NE 82 is configured to send a Path Switch Requestmessage that carries the CSG ID of the target access NE to the coremanagement NE of the target network after receiving the Handover Requestmessage.

Note: In this case, the source core management NE and the target coremanagement NE are integrated in one NE. In the fourth embodiment of thepresent invention, the integrated core management NE 83 is configured toimplement functions of the target core management NE.

Alternatively, as shown in FIG. 9, in the scenario in which the UE ishanded over from the source access NE 81 to the target access NE 82, thecommunication system further includes a source access NE 81 and a sourcecore management NE 84. In this case, the source core management NE 84and the target core management NE 83 are two different NEs located inthe source network and the target network separately.

The source access NE 81 is configured to send a Handover Requiredmessage to the source core management NE 84, where the message carriesthe CSG ID of the target access NE.

The source core management NE 84 is configured to send a ForwardRelocation Request message to the core management NE 83 of the targetnetwork according to the Handover Required message, where the ForwardRelocation Request message carries the CSG ID of the target access NE.

When the UE is in a location update scenario, the target core managementNE interacts with the HSS to obtain the Allowed CSG List of the UE, andthen controls the access of the UE to the target access NE according tothe access control method described above.

In conclusion, the communication system in the fourth embodiment of thepresent invention provides a mechanism for processing the EMC service,and such mechanism ensures continuity of the EMC service whileimplementing the access control under the CSG mechanism.

A communication system provided in the fifth embodiment of the presentinvention includes a source access NE 101 and a target access NE 102.The source access NE 101 judges whether the UE is allowed to access thetarget access NE 102. This embodiment deals with the scenario in whichthe UE is handed over from the source access NE 101 to the target accessNE 102.

The target access NE 102 is configured to access the UE.

The source access NE 101 is configured to obtain the CSG ID of thetarget access NE 102 and the Allowed CSG List of the UE first; selectthe target access NE 102 to initiate a handover procedure if an EMCservice exists on the UE or the CSG ID of the target access NE 102exists in the Allowed CSG List of the UE; or select the target access NE102 to initiate the handover procedure if obtaining that the target areais a CSG area and that no Allowed CSG List of the UE exists but an EMCservice exists on the UE; or else give up selecting the target access NEto initiate the handover procedure.

The source access NE 101 obtains the CSG ID of the target access NE whenthe UE initiates the handover procedure. The source access NE 101 mayobtain the Allowed CSG List information of the UE in the following way:

(1) When the UE accesses the core management NE, the core management NEsends the Allowed CSG List of the UE to the source access NE.

For example, in the access procedure, for an E-UTRAN network, the MMEsends an Initial Context Setup Request message that carries the AllowedCSG List of the UE to the source access NE; for a UTRAN network, theSGSN sends an Information Transfer Indication message that carries theAllowed CSG List of the UE to the source access NE.

Or,

(2) The HMS or the BAM system of the operator sends a message to theaccess NE. The Allowed CSG List of the UE is configured in the HMS orthe BAM system (such as the OSS, BOSS or OMC) of the operator.

For example, after the access NE is powered on, the access NE sends aRegister Request message to the HMS or the BAM system of the operator.The HMS or the BAM system of the operator returns a Register Responsemessage that carries the Allowed CSG List of the UE to the access NE.

The communication system in the fifth embodiment of the presentinvention includes two types of topologies. In the first topology, thesource core management NE and the target core management NE areintegrated in the same NE; and in the second topology, the source coremanagement NE and the target core management NE are two differentnetwork entities.

In the first topology, as shown in FIG. 10, the communication systemincludes an integrated core management NE 103. The integrated coremanagement NE 103 primarily performs the functions of the source coremanagement NE when the source access NE 101 obtains the Allowed CSG Listof the UE; when the UE accesses the network, the integrated coremanagement NE 103 primarily performs the functions of the target coremanagement NE, and this core management NE or the HMS or the BAM systemof the operator sends the Allowed CSG List of the UE to the sourceaccess NE.

In the second topology, as shown in FIG. 11, the communication systemincludes a source core management NE 104 and a target core management NE103 which are separated. When the source access NE 101 selects thetarget access NE 102 to initiate a handover procedure, the processingmechanism further includes:

The source access NE 101 sends a Handover Required message to the sourcecore management NE 104, where the message carries only the informationabout the bearer used by the EMC service.

The source core management NE 104 sends a Forward Relocation Requestmessage to the target core management NE 103 according to the HandoverRequired message, where the Forward Relocation Request message carriesonly the information about the bearer used by the EMC service.

The target core management NE 103 controls the target access NE toaccess the UE.

In conclusion, the communication system in the fifth embodiment of thepresent invention provides a mechanism for processing the EMC service,and such mechanism ensures continuity of the EMC service whileimplementing the access control under the CSG mechanism.

As shown in FIG. 12, a communication system provided in the sixthembodiment of the present invention includes a target access NE 122 anda source core management NE 124.

The source core management NE 124 judges whether the UE is allowed toaccess the target access NE 122. The detailed processing method is asfollows:

The target access NE 122 is configured to access the UE.

The source core management NE 124 is configured to allow the UE toaccess the target access NE 122 if an EMC service exists on the UE orthe CSG ID of the target access NE 122 exists in the Allowed CSG List ofthe UE; or allow the UE to access the target access NE 122 if obtainingthat the target area is a CSG area and that no Allowed CSG List of theUE exists but an EMC service exists on the UE; or else, reject theaccess of the UE to the target access NE 122.

That is, if no CSG ID of the target access NE 122 exists in the AllowedCSG List of the UE, or if the target area is a CSG area, no Allowed CSGList of the UE exists and no EMC service exists on the UE, the sourcecore management NE 124 initiates a detach procedure to detach the UE, orinstructs the UE to initiate an update procedure and migrate to theaccessible cell. The detach procedure or update procedure ensures thatthe access control mechanism for the UE during handover is consistentwith the CSG mechanism.

The source core management NE 124 obtains the Allowed CSG List of the UEfrom the HSS.

The source core management NE 124 may obtain the CSG ID of the targetaccess NE in the following way:

receive a Handover Required message sent by the source access NE 121,where the message carries the CSG ID of the target access NE; or

search a table of mapping relations between an ID of the target accessNE 122 and the CSG ID, and obtain the CSG ID of the target access NE 122according to the ID of the target access NE, where the table of mappingrelations between an ID of the target access NE 122 and the CSG ID isconfigured in the source core management NE, or the HMS, or the BAMsystem of the operator; or

obtain the CSG ID of the target access NE 122 according to the cell IDof the target access NE 122, where the cell ID includes the CSG ID ofthe target access NE 122, and is reported to the source core managementNE 124 through the Handover Required message.

The communication system in the sixth embodiment of the presentinvention further includes a target core management NE 123. To keepconsistent with the access control method under the CSG mechanism, whenthe source core management NE 124 allows the UE to access the targetaccess NE, the target core management NE 123 receives a ForwardRelocation Request message from the source core management NE 124, wherethe Forward Relocation Request message carries only the informationabout the bearer used by the EMC service.

In conclusion, the communication system in the sixth embodiment of thepresent invention provides a mechanism for processing the EMC service,and such mechanism ensures continuity of the EMC service whileimplementing the access control under the CSG mechanism.

A communication system provided in the seventh embodiment of the presentinvention includes a target access NE, which is configured to obtain aCSG ID of a target area and an Allowed CSG List of a UE, and control theaccess of the UE to the target area according to whether the CSG ID ofthe target area exists in the Allowed CSG List of the UE and/or whetheran EMC service exists on the UE; or configured to obtain that the targetarea is a CSG area and that no Allowed CSG List of the UE exists, andcontrol the access of the UE to the target area according to the factsthat the target area is a CSG area and that no Allowed CSG List of theUE exists and/or according to whether an EMC service exists on the UE.

The communication system provided in the seventh embodiment comes in twonetwork structures: One network structure is shown in FIG. 8, in whichthe source core management NE and the target core management NE areintegrated in one NE; and the other network structure is shown in FIG.9.

In the seventh embodiment, the target access NE may obtain the AllowedCSG List of the UE by receiving a Handover Request message from thesource access NE. This Handover Request message carries the Allowed CSGList of the UE. In this case, the system further includes a sourceaccess NE, which is configured to send a Handover Request message thatcarries the Allowed CSG List of the UE to the target access NE.

The target access NE is further configured to obtain the Allowed CSGList of the UE by receiving a Handover Request message from the targetcore management NE. This Handover Request message carries the AllowedCSG List of the UE.

In this case, the system further includes:

a source core management NE, configured to send a Forward RelocationRequest message to the target core management NE, where the ForwardRelocation Request message carries the Allowed CSG List of the UE; and

a target core management NE, configured to send a Handover Requestmessage that carries the Allowed CSG List of the UE to the target accessNE.

For the detailed working method of each functional entity in the systemembodiment, see the method embodiment herein.

To sum up, the technical solution under the present invention useswhether an EMC service exists on the UE as a factor for access control,and provides a mechanism for processing the EMC service under the CSGmechanism; this processing mechanism exercises access control on the UEwithout interrupting the EMC service of the UE, thus ensuring continuityof the EMC service.

Persons of ordinary skill in the art may understand that all or part ofthe steps of the method according to the embodiments of the presentinvention may be implemented by a program instructing relevant hardware.The program may be stored in a computer readable storage medium.

The above descriptions are merely exemplary embodiments of the presentinvention, but not intended to limit the scope of the present invention.Any modifications, variations or replacement that can be easily derivedby those skilled in the art should fall within the scope of the presentinvention. Therefore, the scope of the present invention is subject tothe appended claims.

What is claimed is:
 1. A communication system, comprising: a source coremanagement network element (NE) configured to obtain a Closed SubscriberGroup (CSG) identifier (ID) of a target area from a handover requiredmessage sent by a source access NE during a handover procedure and anallowed CSG list of a user equipment (UE), and control access of the UEto the target area according to whether the CSG ID of the target areaexists in the allowed CSG list of the UE; and wherein the source accessNE is configured to send the handover required message to the sourcecore management NE during the handover procedure, and wherein thehandover required message carries the CSG ID of the target area.
 2. Thecommunication system according to claim 1, wherein the source coremanagement NE is configured to allow the UE to access the target area ifthe CSG ID of the target area exists in the allowed CSG list of the UE.3. The communication system according to claim 1, wherein the targetarea comprises: a target cell, or a target tracking area, or a targetrouting area.
 4. The communication system according to claim 1, whereinthe communication system comprises: a target access NE configured toaccess the UE.
 5. An access control method, comprising: obtaining, by asource access network element (NE), a Closed Subscriber Group (CSG)identifier (ID) of a target area; sending, by the source access NE, ahandover required message to a source mobility management entity (MME),wherein the handover required message carries the CSG ID of the targetarea.
 6. A computer program product comprising a non-transitorycomputer-readable medium having program code recorded thereon, theprogram code comprising: program code to obtain a Closed SubscriberGroup (CSG) identifier (ID) of a target area from a handover requiredmessage sent by a source access network element (NE) and an allowed CSGlist of a user equipment (UE); and program code to control access of theUE to the target area according to whether the CSG ID of the target areaexists in the allowed CSG list of the UE.
 7. The computer programproduct according to claim 1, wherein the program code further comprisesprogram code to allow the UE to access the target area if the CSG ID ofthe target area exists in the allowed CSG list of the UE.
 8. Thecomputer program product according to claim 1, wherein the program codefurther comprises: program code to reject the access of the UE access tothe target area if the CSG ID of the target area does not exist in theallowed CSG list of the UE and no emergency call (EMC) service exists onthe UE; or program code to allow the UE to access the target area if theCSG ID of the target area does not exist in the allowed CSG list of theUE but the EMC service exists on the UE.
 9. An access control apparatus,comprising: a memory; and at least one processor coupled to the memoryand configured to: obtain a Closed Subscriber Group (CSG) identifier(ID) of a target area from a handover required message sent by a sourceaccess network element (NE), and an allowed CSG list of a user equipment(UE), and control access of the UE to the target area according towhether the CSG ID of the target area exists in the allowed CSG list ofthe UE.
 10. The access control apparatus according to claim 9, whereinthe at least one processor is further configured to: allow the UE toaccess the target area if the CSG ID of the target area exists in theallowed CSG list of the UE.
 11. The access control apparatus accordingto claim 9, wherein the at least one processor if further configured to:reject the access of the UE access to the target area if the CSG ID ofthe target area does not exist in the allowed CSG list of the UE and noemergency call (EMC) service exists on the UE; or allow the UE to accessthe target area if the CSG ID of the target area does not exist in theallowed CSG list of the UE but the EMC service exists on the UE.